WASHINGTON - In his State of the Union address, President Obama insisted on the
need to protect Social Security and ensure that future generations can
depend on it. Nevertheless, it appears that some in Congress are
considering major changes to the program. Unfortunately, many people do
not understand the program’s solvency or the likely importance that it
will have for them in retirement. To better inform the public about the
role Social Security will play in their retirement, an online calculator
that estimates a family's monthly income during retirement was released
today by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR).

The CEPR Social Security Calculator
helps users get a better picture of how much of their retirement income
will come from Social Security benefits and allows them to compare this
to other households in their county with similar demographics. The
calculator lets users enter their planned date of retirement, current
income, estimated mortgage debt, savings, stocks and pension to
calculate their future household retirement income. Users can also enter
demographic information such as age, race, and marital status and
compare their total retirement income to similar households in their
area. The data used in the calculator is drawn from the Census Bureau's
American Community Survey (ACS).

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The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) was established in 1999 to promote democratic debate on the most important economic and social issues that affect people's lives. In order for citizens to effectively exercise their voices in a democracy, they should be informed about the problems and choices that they face. CEPR is committed to presenting issues in an accurate and understandable manner, so that the public is better prepared to choose among the various policy options.

Further

Surrounded by a massive police presence, the country's top law enforcement official told a group of carefully screened students at Georgetown's Law School that, "In this great land, the government does not tell you what to think or what to say." In his speech, only announced the day before, Sessions went on to denounce uppity knee-taking football players and defend his boss' call, hours before, for them to be fired. We may need to upgrade the ole Irony Alert buzzer. It can't keep up.